How Fund Finder matches funds
The exact steps between your five answers and the funds you see — no black box.
Step 1
Investment timeframe sets the starting point
The longer your money stays invested, the more short-term ups and downs it can ride out. Your timeframe picks a starting fund type: under 3 years → Defensive, 3–5 years → Conservative, 6–12 years → Balanced, 13–25 years → Growth, 25+ years → Aggressive.
Step 2
Your reaction to a falling balance adjusts it
If a 20% drop would have you topping up, we move one step more aggressive — you're comfortable with volatility. If it would cost you sleep, we move one step more defensive. Sitting tight leaves the suggestion unchanged.
Step 3
Your goal fine-tunes it
Saving for a first-home deposit shifts the suggestion one step more defensive, because money you might withdraw soon shouldn't be exposed to a bad year at the wrong moment. Retirement goals leave the suggestion as-is.
Step 4
We filter the fund list
We take every fund in our database in your suggested risk band, plus the bands immediately either side. If you've switched on the ethical filter, only screened funds are included.
Step 5
We order and select the results
Funds are ordered by how close their risk band is to your suggestion, then by 10-year return (higher first), then by annual fee (lower first). We show at least one fund from each matching band, then fill up to four results with the next best matches. No provider can pay to rank higher.
Why a fund appears in your results
Every fund card on the homepage shows a short 'Why this fund appeared' note. It tells you which of your answers put it there: the timeframe it fits, the risk band it sits in relative to your suggestion, its fee, and its past returns. If a fund doesn't match your answers, it simply doesn't appear.
Where the fund data comes from
Fund fees, returns, risk categories and provider details are drawn from publicly disclosed information, primarily the Financial Markets Authority's Disclose register, where every KiwiSaver provider must publish fund updates and Product Disclosure Statements.
Government rules — contribution rates, the government contribution, PIR tax rates and NZ Super figures — come from Inland Revenue, Work and Income and other official New Zealand government sources. Each tool and guide links to the sources it relies on.
How often it's refreshed
Fund data is refreshed automatically once a week. Every refresh stamps the data with a 'last updated' date, which you'll see next to the fund finder results and on the directory and ethical funds pages.
Provider fund updates are usually published quarterly, so some figures may not change between weekly refreshes. When the government changes a rule (for example the employer minimum rising to 3.5% from 1 April 2026), we update the affected calculators and guides and change their reviewed date.
Staying independent
No provider pays to appear in, or to be ranked higher in, our results. If we ever add sponsored listings or affiliate partners, they will be clearly labelled and kept separate from the organic fund rankings.
Limitations
The finder matches funds to your answers — it doesn't score or rate funds, and a 'Potential match' badge is not a recommendation. Data can lag provider websites, and we can make mistakes. Always check the provider's latest fund update and Product Disclosure Statement before acting. Everything here is educational information, not financial advice.
Spotted something out of date? Let us know.